Law Schools

Law Firms Should Provide Student Loan Assistance To Their Associates

Offering relief from student loans would allow large law firms to project a much gentler image.

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It seems that many of the nation’s top law firms are in an arms race to recruit the best talent possible.  This website has widely discussed how firms compete when offering salaries, bonuses, and other compensation so that the brightest mind will want to work at these shops.  In addition, many law firms offer a dizzying array of perks such as free meals, rides home, and other benefits that put some Silicon Valley employers to shame.  However, not many law firms offer attorneys any benefits when it comes to student loans.

The idea of employers offering student debt relief is not new.  Indeed, I have read numerous articles about financial services companies offering programs through which employers can provide student debt relief.  It seems obvious that law firms would have more reasons than most other employers to offer student loan assistance.  Of course, attorneys borrow massive amount of student debt so that they have the credentials necessary to work at law firms.  As a result, law firms should provide student debt relief, since these shops are benefiting from attorneys who borrow money to finance their educations.   All told, I think that many law firms should seriously consider providing student loan assistance to their associates for a number of reasons.

First, offering student debt relief as a perk of employment would help many law firms, since this benefit would assist these shops in recruiting talented lawyers.  Many of the nation’s top law firms are already trying to “one up” each other over compensation and benefits.  Providing student loan assistance would be one additional benefit a firm could offer that competitors would not immediately provide.  In addition, paying for student debt relief offers tax benefits that employers cannot realize if they just increase compensation.  Providing student debt assistance would allow law firms to attract top talent without some of the drawbacks of simply raising salaries.

In addition, offering student debt relief would enable employees to work even harder at their jobs.  As I have discussed at length on my own website, I worked thousands of hours at side-hustles and stressed out in unbelievable ways due to my student loans.  I would be lying if I said that my student debt did not have a negative impact on my job performance, since taking care of my student loans took attention away from my job.  However, if my student loans were partially or totally paid for by my employer, I would be able to focus my full attention on my job.  Also, my gratitude for this assistance would compel me to bring more energy and dedication to my work as an attorney.

Moreover, providing student debt relief to employees would be a great public relations move for many law firms.  Most big firms are viewed as “law factories” that work associates to the bone and do not care about attorneys other than the amount of hours they bill annually.  However, offering relief from student loans would allow law firms to project a gentler image that may be very appealing to prospective clients and business partners.  Indeed, many of the reasons law firms promote pro bono and charitable causes could also be used to justify student loan assistance.  Whereas simply raising compensation conveys an image of excess, offering student debt relief can have positive effects on the reputation of a law firm.  As such, law firms could easily justify a student loan assistance program, since it would make good business sense to have such a benefit.

Of course, there are a number of arguments against law firms offering student debt relief.  Some might argue that student loans keep associates working at some of the bigger law firms, since employment at these shops is the only way many attorneys can be free of student debt.  This might be true, but if this were the case, ever-increasing compensation would also enable attorneys to leave firms, and this hasn’t stopped the top firms from increasing salaries.  Others might think it is unfair to offer student debt relief to employees when some associates might not have student loans.  However, the vast majority of attorneys do have student loans, and a balance can be struck between offering student debt assistance and being fair to attorneys who are debt-free.

Furthermore, some might argue that it is not the responsibility of employers to help attorneys with their student loans.  However, law firms offer all kinds of perks that are only tangentially related to the work of employees.  Indeed, many shops offer disability coverage, 401(k) matches, and other benefits.  Student debt relief could be such an additional perk, and it can be argued that repaying student loans is more connected to an attorney’s work than some of these other benefits.

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I would be remiss if I did not mention that some law firms do currently offer attorneys assistance with student loans.  This is a great start, and these firms should be commended.  However, student debt assistance should be more widely considered by law firms for all of the reasons noted above.  Not only would offering student debt relief be beneficial to law firms, it would be the right thing to do as well.

Jordan Rothman is the founder of Student Debt Diaries, a personal finance website discussing how he paid off all $197,890.20 of his college and law school student loans over 46 months of his late 20s. You can reach him at Jordan@studentdebtdiaries.com.

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